Customer Reviews

Sempre Libera

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I play for the Opera Orchestra here in San Francisco and have had the pleasure of hearing Anna Netrebko many times live. We heard her here first before anyone else in the US. She is a great artist with an astonishingly pure, clear, agile, unforced, lovely tone; she is drop dead gorgeous, and she seems to have a sweet personality. (Although I have not spoken to her except to say how much I enjoyed her singing.)

Recently I needed to buy new speakers for my living room, so I took her CD Sempre Libera to Harmony Audio here in SF and played it as a speaker demo. It is fantastic. Anna sounds great as usual, but Claudio Abbado and the orchestra accompany her beautifully and the recorded sound is magnificent from Deutsche Gramophon. I don't know if it is a good speaker demo because it sounds great on everything, but I bought speakers and I am very happy with them. Bravo to Anna and to everyone involved! Anna, I hope we see and hear you in San Francisco again soon.

Deutsche Grammophon has again pulled out all the stops for the second album of a planned five for the already risen diva, Anna Netrebko. I thought that the award-winning first album would be difficult to top, but the maturing voice of Ms. Netrebko just gets better and better. What a lush and beautiful coloratura. The range of her lustrous voice is amazing with high e-flats sung with apparent effortlessness and her bottoms without any strain. Her interpretation runs the gamut of emotion and the Ave Maria from Otello brings tears. The repertoire is all from six well-known Italian operas from Bellini to Puccini. The orchestra more than ably conducted by Claudio Abbado also has some excellent soloists who hold their own. I was going to complain about the length and was surprised that it is almost 70 minutes in length, testimony to its beauty. The brochure is very well done as it contains a full translation of the arias, the names of all the artists and some stunning photographs of the captivating Anna. Oh my, it just does not get any better. Artists that have it all come only once in a lifetime. I fail to understand why the Metropolitan Opera, unlike the other major houses in the world, is not offering her the meaty roles. She is much worthier than the Musetta and Zerlina she is being offered. Two CDs from this very gifted Russian artist. Three to go. Not one Russian aria, yet. Patience, patience. Maybe next year.

Let's get this right out in the open - YES Anna is drop-dead gorgeous! Yes she has a gorgeous voice. However in my opinion, she's TOTALLY out of her element on this disc. She is singing almost all the WRONG repertoire.

Shall we start with the Amazon.com review above? "She still may not be an absolutely polished, finished artist, but she's working at it..." Excuse me? Why the heck is she getting her own recital disc. Many, many artists are "working at it" in lessons, in small productions, why does she get to perfect her craft on the world stage? Oh yea, she's beautiful. Next, "She doesn't quite have the stature or insights for Verdi's Violetta yet..." Why is she singing it? Then, "The Lucia Mad Scene...is quite wonderful, even if the runs are sometimes not as well-delineated as they should be..." What? This is one of the most famous coloratura pieces ever, if you can't sing it, then DON'T! My favorite, "Artistry and everything else aside..." WHAT!!!??? Yikes! I will disagree here, "And although she's not vocally suited to Desdemona's Willow Song and Ave Maria..." I feel she's absolutely more in her element on these pieces.

Anna is a full lyric soprano, she should be singing Mimi, Butterfly, lyric Mozart and some French repertoire, not this coloratura rep. Her runs are atrocious, her pitch is far from perfect, and her top is quite thin compared to the rest of her voice. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! Whoever has her singing this rep should be fired immediately.

Unfortunately, she's the "IT" girl of the moment (and most likely for years to come), this year the Met has her singing Gilda in Rigoletto (which I saw - sloppy, but beautiful and NO top notes), and Norina in Don Pasquale. Next year she's singing Elvira in I Puritani (EEK!! The thought of this is truly freightening - Elvira is ALL coloratura), but luckily she'll be singing her first Mimi (whew!). Future seasons have her in War and Peace (better) and Romeo and Juliette (good). Hopefully she'll trend toward these roles as she grows, I say wait for that disc. If you want GREAT coloratura, get anything with Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, or Natalie Dessay (Currently the best coloratura on the planet!). I don't hate Anna, I like her very much, I just think she'd be better suited singing different rep.

I read all the reviews of this CD and some are really puzzling, especially the negative ones. A reminder: the most fragile, inconsistent, and prone to mistakes musical instrument is the human voice! For this reason, there never was and would never be a perfect soprano, but among the hundreds there would a few great ones, like Callas and Netrebko. To compare- as some do in these reviews- one to the other, either positively or negatively, is musically, vocally and temperament-wise, with all respect, ill-conceived. Callas was a post-WW II phenomenon. The times were different and the opera fans were different. When Callas sang Tosca in 1964 at the Royal Opera House, in London, the audience responded with 27 curtain calls that lasted 40 minutes. This fact, irrespective how nolstagic, belongs to another century, never to be repeated. Now, we're living in the 21st century; the century of instant information, digital music and opera prformances that will be broadcast live on Satellite Radio and the Internet. Opera Lovers, Netrebko, with this CD, wecomes you to 21st century, enjoy it, and stop living in the past!

When a soprano hits a high note, like C or D-and Nettebko does a few on this CD-a miracle is happening. The vocal cords vibrate, at least, 400 times per second! How it's humanly possible, without sliding, for any soprano to do that is beyond comprehension, physiologically speaking, in the production of a singing sound. On the other hand, lapses, misses, and pitch changes are expected and must be understood. So, if there are no perfect sopranos, what makes a soprano great: Two things: one, how she uses and colors her voice to show emotion-singing; and two, how she coordinates body language with her voice to project the character-acting. This CD, like any studio recording, gives a glimpse of Netrebko's greatness. What makes a soprano great is the visceral response of her audience that is heard on live recordings. This is a gift that very few sopranos possess, regardless of the quality of voice.

Nertebko, I hope, will never try or be made to be another Callas, but she remains Netrebko. On this CD, it's evedent that Netrebko's voice does not fit the standard classiication of the soprano voice. She crosses all levels, from lyric, to spinto, to coloratura with phenomenal agility and control, and with a creammy darkness in the middle. Her reading of 'Era piu calmo? Piangea cantando nell'erma landa-Ave Maria' from Verdi's Ottelo is breathtaking, with a brilliant pianissimo that leaves you stunned. I love this CD, and I listen to it often to experience bel canto singing and to enjoy a glorious voice. Netrebko, as some reviewers argue, may not be a perfect singer, and neither was Callas; but if she continues along the same path, as it is evedent from this CD, and takes care of her voice, she is, and she will be among the very few great ones.

Constantine A. Papas
El Paso, TX

Truly we are heading back into a golden era of singing. It has been far too long since fine up and coming singers have emerged. Anna Netrebko is one of this era's shining stars. She has one of the lushest, flighty, and naturally dramatic voices I've ever heard, though that does not hide the lack of artistry in this recent recital. She seems very detached from every role she presents, her best being her Violetta which itself is only skimming the surface of the character. The previous reviewer said "These songs are the essence of passion" and she delivers a very bland and mechanical performance. Yes you might have the high notes but who wants to hear you sing if you don't do it beautifully. I believe that she has been pushed or unknowingly wandered into repertoire which is beyond her years. She can sing it fine, though her upper register especially the constant barrage of high E flats leave much to be desired. She has not the experience to portray the characters in the correct facet or at all (for an example of this listen to her O mio babbino caro.....beautifully sung not one flaw, but utterly devoid of emotion that is not otherwise created by the music) That is one thing I believe many singers do they take on roles solely according to their voice when the major question should be "What can I add to this role, what experiences do I have to pull on." You can totally understand the role, but to truly be one with the role you must connect to it through your heart. One thing I will give to her is that she is immensely talented and has a wonderful musical sense. All else aside her musicality is what helps her pull off these arias. Also as purely a side note I absolutely love the colors of her voice it is very reminiscent of Maria Callas in her early years and I pray for the day when with experience she will be able to use this unique attribute to its full extent. Honey you have the training.....you have the voice....now just give yourself to the music.....let yourself be the music.....and fly away.......taking our hearts with you!

First the pros: Ms. Netrebko's soprano lirico leggero is pleasant and technically proficient. She obviously knows how to sing and does not to try to push her instrument, which is even and smooth all throughout her remarkable vocal range. Given the nature of her instrument, it is evident that she feels more at ease in the upper regions of the tessitura. Her agility, while not dazzling or infallible (like Mariella Devia's), is quite good. Here and there some florid passages are a little blurred but over all her coloratura is more than satisfying.
Now the cons: She sings to concentrate all her efforts into producing pretty sounds, to the detriment of her fraseggio (phrasing), which does not come out as particularly inspired. Many key passages pass almost unnoticed, and she seems not to be trying hard to infuse them with meaning. In a few words, at least at this stage of her career, she doesn't appear to be one of the most imaginative singers. Her palette doesn't have many colors and ultimately may give a sense of boredom. She is still a young singer, so hopefully maturity will lead her to a more nuanced approach to her roles.
One more thing. To those other reviewers who disliked the use of glassa armonica in Lucia's Mad Scene, I would like to point out that this way exactly the way Donizetti wrote it (the use of the flute is a spurious tradition).

I'm not sure if I was listening to the same cd as the rest of the reviewers becuase I see very little reason behind giving this cd a 5 star rating. There are huge flaws in every aria and while I could go on at length about what they are I'm just going to go into the most obvious ones.

The pacing of her singing seems slightly off to me in her entire La Traviata run and she has a tendency to open her tone too wide on her high notes. She also seems to be completely missing the middle c on her first pass in "Sempre Librea" almost like she ran out of breath. And the rest of her lower notes are weak at best. Her downward scales are decent but her runs up the scale could be better defined. Her trills are, well, not really there. And I really don't like the tenor even if his part is like 12 bars.

All three of the pieces from "La Sonnambula" are boring and flat and she starts way too heavy and thick in the beginning of "Ah! Non credea mirarti". And are there even words in the aria because I can't tell her tone is so covered. Her overall technique in the "La Sonnambula" arias are pretty bad but is more obvious in "Ah! non giunge uman pensiero" then the other two pieces. She constantly has the same problems with in all of her bel canto selections. Poorly defined runs and trills, wide hard high notes, and often her staccato notes end up more of a jab then a light tap. I was just really unimpressed by the entire "La Sonnambula" series which is too bad because it is a beautiful opera.

She tries hard to channel her inner-Sutherland in I Puritani with little success. Actually she seems to do that a lot in this album hence her lack of diction problem. But since Netrebko doesn't have Sutherland's tone, she can't even remotely get away with poor diction. (Sutherland couldn't really either but Sutherland had that stunning voice so poor diciton could be overlooked a little) The girl needs to learn how to enunciate and could benefit from some vowel placement since she tends to be a little sloppy there. And more than once she turned a pure "ah" into a "wah" especially with notes above the staff which is not only annoying but also not very pretty.

Lucia Di Lammermoor. I'm not even going to go into the issues with her "rendition" of this scene because I'd be here all night. I just don't get why she is singing it. And why is anyone letting her. If she can't do a proper trill in "Sempre Libera" then what genius came up the idea that she should sing the Mad Scene from Lucia?! There are so many incredibly recordings of Lucia Di Lammermoor by Callas, Sutherland, Dessay, Pons, etc. who can sing it properly that it seems like utter stupidity by Ms. Netrebko and her team to record a scene that has been done a thousand times better by many many more talented people.

Her Othello pieces are fine but I can not get over her lack of low notes! I get she's a soprano but the vast majority of songs have low notes and it's really distracting to be listening to an aria and then have the vocal line broken because the singer can't hit a middle "c" decently. The latter part of "Ave Maria" is pretty and while hardly the best I have heard, it keeps me from giving this album a 1 star rating which I was tempted to do.

Her "O Mio" is extremely forced and thick and not to my taste. She sounds like she trying to sound impressive and "opera-ish" and instead the song comes off sounding rather generic and lacks any vocal character. And although her tone is better on her high notes in this piece her diction still sucks and leaves it at a B rendition instead of an A for me.

The whole disc is disappointing and as a fellow reviewer mentioned, it's because she is singing the entirely wrong arias. Just because you can hit all the notes in the song, does NOT mean it's a good song for your vocal sound. She is a lyric. She is NOT a coloratura. (listen to 1 minute of Sumi Jo or Natalie Dessay and you'll understand what a coloratura really sounds like) She will never be a coloratura. Nor will she be a spinto-coloratura hybrid like Sutherland or Callas. She just doesn't have the technique or tone to pull it off. Once she comes to terms with the fact that she isn't a spinto-coloratura hopefully she will start recording songs she can actually sing. She does have a pretty voice when she's not trying to sound like someone else. Her Rusalka from her last cd, while not as good as Renee Fleming's, was beautiful. That is the type of arias she should be recording. Not Lucia Di Lammermoor! Leave that stuff to Dessay! But then again, if everyone around me was calling me "The Next Callas!" I'd be suffering from a vocal identity crises as well.

I think that's the problem. Everyone wants another Callas. So they keep hustling these very attractive, relatively decent singers into recording, make up, and hair studios and suddenly these inexperienced singers are singing music that is out of their reach in an effort to get "The Next Callas!" out to the public. But Callas has passed on. And there will never be another Callas. And there shouldn't be. Not only because it's impossible to replace a remarkable talent and voice like Callas but because it was Callas's improper vocal choices that helped cause her demise. Why are we trying to repeat the mistakes of the past? So maybe the opera world should stop trying to stuff Callas imitations down our throats and let us find a fresh voice instead.

This is a remarkable CD by the current "it" soprano. Anna Netrebko has it all. She is a wonderful singer, and a beautiful woman. Any star on the rise, particularly one with this much physical beauty and commercial promise, will always fall victim to criticisms that are more or less trivial. Believe me, I get it. When I first saw Anna, I wanted to be judgemental. After all, maybe she was just another pretty face being pushed by a record company. Then I heard her "Sempre libera" and became a fan.

There are criticisms of her trill, or her lack of a trill. Renee Fleming doesn't have a trill, and she has been the acclaimed queen for some time. Because of Anna's trill issues, she's criticized as lacking something that a coloratura should have. Well, she's not a coloratura. A good bel canto singer does not have to be a coloratura. There are criticisms of Anna's repertoire choices. You know why she picked this interesting melange for this CD? Because these are difficult scenes and arias, and she can do them. The only aria I didn't think "fit" is the "O mio babbino caro". She does it well, I just can't figure out what it's doing on this CD.

The "La Traviata" scene that starts the CD is absolutely magnificent. She is a wonderful Violetta, and sings this demanding scene with panache. She does the high E-flat at the end. Of course, she was coached by Scotto on this aria. Nice coaching if you can get it. No less remarkable are her scenes from "La sonnambula" and "I puritani". Her "Qui la voce" was beautiful. To listen to that gorgeous singing, and only focus on whether or not she has a trill is to miss the point of the music. I can definitely see why the Met is giving her the "Puritani" this season. Her scenes from "Lucia di Lammermoor" were technically perfect, and her mad scene very well done. The "Otello" scenes were amazing, particularly the floated pianos and pianissimos in the "Ave Maria". Abbado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra are wonderful collaborators.

Ignore the criticisms and buy this CD! You'll be glad that you did. Highly recommended.

This follow up recital by Anna Netrebko is surely pleasent. Her lucious voice is just as beautiful on this CD as her recital debut, and her readings of old favorites are fresh and inspired. Maestro Abbado manages to present an ensemble of orchestra, chorus and singers that provide performances that deserve to be heard. One bothersome thing about Ms. Netrebko's voice that was not as noticeable on her first album is her lack of control of her lower register. In "Sempre libera," her attempts at singing the lower notes of a coloratura passage sound like gaspy stabs. This is slightly worrisome, and one hopes that it is something that can be fixed to help her voice become a little more even throughout her entire range. Nevertheless, this recital and this artist are nothing short of thrilling. Her voice is unique as it is beautiful and her interpretations are as simple as they are inspired. Don't miss this beautiful treasure of an artist.

Anna Netrebko's I Puritani selections are way below the art and skill of Callas, Sills, Sutherland, Caballe, and Gencer. She has no passion, no trills, no high notes that are deep and rich. Her best is in the Russian repertoire and possibley some undemanding Mozart.

Her broadcast from the Met Live of the I Puritani was alright, but scooping, avoidance of repetitions, running through passages like a locomotive, and an ending that would have brought the wrath of most opera houses in the world..scooping again, and a tight awful sounding high note. The same tentativenes is also here on this CD.She should know this. Her beauty and acting and allure are what interest the masses, not the voice, which is forgiven everything.

Too bad; she could be a lovely Tatyana some day.Also too, the Traviata is not that great; Anna Moffo , Renee Fleming, M. Caballe, and of course Maria Callas..Listen to these and hear the difference.